Collapsible receptacle.



No. 778,641. PATENTED DEC. 27, 1904.

L. s. DUDLEY & D. R. BEBOUT.

GOLLAPSIBLB RECEPTAGLB.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 9, 1904.

Q f 9 7 (3 /2 n 07; m

9. L..l i 94 UNITED STATES Patented December 27, 1904.

PATENT ()EEIcE.

LEON S. DUDLEY AND DELMAR R. BEBOUT, OF EFFINGHAM, ILLINOIS.

COLLAPSIBLE RECEPTACLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 778,641, dated December27, 1904. Application filed January 9, 1904- Serial No. 188,310.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LEON S. DUDLEY and DELMAR R. BEBOUT, citizens ofthe United States, and residents of Effingham, in the county ofEflingham and State of Illinois, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Collapsible Receptacles, of which the following is aspecification.

Our invention relates to an improvement in collapsible receptacles, moreparticularly to bathing-tubs of moderate capacity and suitable for usewith a portable shower-bath.

In carrying out our invention we make use of certain novel constructionsand arrangements of parts, such as will be more fully describedhereinafter and particularly set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of ourinvention in its collapsed state. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of theinvention in position to serve as a receptacle, and Figs. 3 and 4 areviews of details.

A indicates the bottom of the tub, which is provided with sides 1 1,preferably integral therewith and adapted to lie in the same plane withor assume a vertical position with relation to the bottom A. The tub maybe composed of any suitable waterproof flexible material such as rubbercloth, for instance-and is preferablyrectangular in shape. The edge ofthe sheet is bent or folded over to form ahem or pocket (t (t on eachside of the tub, the outer edge of the hem being again folded inwardlyto form a selvage 1 l, the material of which the latter fold is formedbeing secured to the hem in any suitable manner; but the hem eX- cept ashereinafter provided is not secured at its free edge to the outersurface of the side of the tub.

At the corners where the sides meet we pro vide stiffening andstrengthening devices, as follows: A strip of material 2, preferablypatent-leather and of trapezoidal outline, as shown, is inserted betweenthe hem a and the side wall of the receptacle, the inclined side of thestrip lying parallel with a line drawn diagonally through the corners ofthe sheet. A

similar rectangular strip 3 is placed adjacent to and slightly removedfrom the end at of the strip 2. Strips 2 and 3 are inserted between theI fold or hem a and the walll of the tub, being secured therebetween inany suitable manner. Each side of the sheet adjacent the corners isprovided with a series of these devices, as shown. Straddling thecorners of the tub, to which they are secured, are bails which carryrings 7 7 in the loops thereof. These bails may be composed of leatheror other flexible strong material, if desired. The walls 1 1 on theirinner faces are also provided with fastening means 8 8, such as theusual form of snap-closures for gloves, which fasteners are secured toone another when the receptacle is set up. The strips 3 3 have securedthereto a button 9 of anysuitable type, which button is located near theouter edges thereof and is designed to receive a loop or eye formed inthe ends of a flexible connection 10, the bight 15 of this cordconnection passing through the ring 7.

Between the corners of the sheet and eX- tending along the sides thereofare wire supports 11 11 of a general right-angular form, as shown, theconnecting-bars l2 12 thereof removably received between the fold or hem(6 and the wall 1 and the inwardly-projecting legs 13 13, resting uponthe floor or other surface beneath the bottom of the tub. We prefer tomake these supports of round material in order that the frictional wearof the supports on the sheet may be reduced as much as possible, and thesupports may be covered or bound, if deemed desirable.

From the foregoing it will be seen that when our improvement is in itsrelaxed state, as shown in Fig. 1, the walls contain thestiffening-strips 2 and 3, which also reinforce and strengthen thecorners, and that the shank of bail 6 is fastened to the corners of thetub, and that, furthermore, the shanks of the buttons 9 9 pass throughthe walls 1 1, the hems a a, and the interposed strengthening-strips 33, but close enough to the upper edge of the walls to prevent leakage.The snap-buttons 8 8 also are secured through the side walls, hems, andstiffening-pieces 2 2. The supports 11 11 are removable from the pocketsformed between the hem and wall in order that the receptacle may berolled up and occupy a minimum amount of space.

It will ILIO also be observed that the adjacent strips 2 2 at thecorners are spaced apart, whereby a fold or pucker 14 is formed when thedevice is set up, as shown in Fig. 2.

In setting up the device the fasteners 8 8, which are located on theinside faces of the side walls, are forced or otherwise secured to.-gether to bring the corners tightly and snugly against one another. Thesupports 11 11 are then placed in position in the pocketsbetween thestrips 3 3 to retain the sides in place against the weight of the watercontained in the receptacle.

When it is desired to empty the contents of the receptacle, the bights15 15 of each cord are gathered in the hand, whereby the four corners ofthe tub are lifted simultaneously, the flexibility of the tub whenraised causing it to assume an elongated shape and permitting thedischarge of its contents into a jar or other suitable receptacle withease and facility, the cord passing freely through the rings 7 7. Thespace left between the strips 2 and 3 is to prevent the formation of anabrupt or sharp bend in the leather or other stifiening means when thetub is lifted. Such a bend would be formed if the stiffening meansconsisted of a single integral piece.

It is obvious that the sides 16 16 may be of any desired height suitablefor a foot-tub, for instance, and that many other changes in the formand arrangement of the several parts described can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of our invention, and hence we donot wish to limit ourselves to the exact construction herein set forth;but,

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and desireto secure by Let ters Patent, is-

1. In a collapsible receptacle the combination with a bottom, wallstherearound and a continuous hem on each wall, of a support comprisingan integral U-shaped member, the connecting-bar of which is received inthe hem and legs integral with the U-shaped mem her and projectingbeneath the bottom at approximately right angles to the U -shapedmember.

'2. A collapsible receptacle comprising a bottom and sides, a pluralityof separate and independent pieces of stiffening and reinforcingmaterial secured to the walls, the pieces of reinforcing materialadjacent each corner of the receptacle being cut bias, the biased edgesbeing parallel with each other and spaced apart therefrom, means fordetachably fastening the corners of the receptacle to gether, the foldso formed being accommodated between the biased edges of the adjacentstiffening-pieces and means for retaining the walls of the receptacle inupright position.

3. A collapsible receptacle comprising a bottom and walls the materialof which the walls are composed being folded outwardly at their upperedges, separate pieces of stiffening material inserted and securedbetween the plies of the fold on each side of the corners of the walls,means carried by the corners of the walls for removably forming eachcorner into an outfold to reduce the area inclosed by the walls andstifien the latter, means removably engaging the Walls for retaining thelatter in upright position and means for raising the receptacle.

L. A collapsible receptacle comprising a bottom and walls, a ringcarried at each corner of the wall, flexible means secured at either endto the sides of the walls adjacent the corners, the loop or bight of theflexible means passing through the rings, means for releasably formingoutfolds at the corners of the receptacle, and removable means forretaining the walls in upright position.

Intestimony whereof we have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

LEON s. DUDLEY. DELMAR R. nnsonr.

Witnesses:

H. B. WnMsINe, C. L. NoLTn.

